Heggessey - out by June?

And (never start a sentence on an And!) who says that the person that takes over will replace those idents. They might keep them on the basis of cash saving purposes. Now if this is the case will the new person just be slated just because a minority of the population don't like the idents.

Put it another way, one of the people who might take over is BBC3's Stuart Murphy and he was brand/ DOG crazy in his BBC Choice days. So if you think you have it bad now... you might want to reconsider!

That is a VERY good point.

Why not bring back Jonathan Powell or Alan Yentob?

I look forward to a new vision for BBC1. Not only will we be able to see the channel revitalized in a non-kitschy way that doesn't pander to the very lowest denominator of popular culture...

... we'll also get to see everyone here who works for the BBC kiss up to the new guy instead of the old girl with comments about what a wonderful job he or she is doing and how criticism of this person on this forum is totally without basis .

The march of time is inspiring.

Even if the dancers stay,i don't think we'll have as much 'everything has to have something do with dance and the colour red'!

Quite agree Dan. Statements are made at how poor BBC One is now with no support.

In both ratings and ambition BBC One is in a much stronger state now than it was under Peter Salmon - in my opinion (though the ratings are fact)

Wednesday nights, Saturday nights, daytime mornings, Friday nights, Thursday nights, Tuesday nights, Monday nights - Sundays not to great either!

I don't think supporting evidence is likely to be forthcoming; I'm guessing many people here aren't old enough to remember as far back as 1996.

I don't think BBC1 was in a particularly strong state under Peter Salmon, but it has not got much better under Lorraine Heggessey. The only good decision I can think of is her decision to revive Doctor Who!

I can remember back to the early 1980s. At 8.00 on a Tuesday evening on BBC1 almost exactly 20 years ago you could watch James Burke's series 'The Day The Universe Changed'. Fast forward to 2005, and you'd have to switch to BBC4 to watch anything like that. Meanwhile at 8.00 on a Tuesday evening nowadays on BBC1, what do you get? Holby City - every single week of the year.

Today's early evening line-up consists of too many lifestyle, makeover, holiday and consumer programmes, and too many episodes of EastEnders, Holby City and Casualty. There is not enough entertainment - quiz shows and pre-watershed comedy are virtually extinct - and what were they thinking of, axing Tomorrow's World?! Where are the replacement science series we were promised?

And most documentaries today are dumbed down for the plebs, with flashy graphics but very little content like the 'Space' series a couple of years ago, and Alan Titchmarsh's overly-sentimental Natural History of Britain.

Ratings aren't everything (especially in the case of the BBC) Just because she's got an extra episode of EE, and Holby City and Casualty running as soaps doesn't mean that BBC One is stronger.

I agree Dan. In honesty, I am not a great fan of Lorraine Heggessy because I find her a little arrogant and stubborn in her views. However, BBC1 has not really lost the plot under her control. I remember in 1984 when Michael Grade was controller, people accused him of introducing political correctness to the channel and expressing their dislike to some of his programme commissions. However, without Michael Grade, I feel that BBC1 would never have evolved in the way that it appears today. OK, Lorraine has had some bizarre ideas to say the least, in particular the idents and that oddity that was text night.

However, not all her commissions were disasters, she has developed BBC1 into the most watched TV channel overall, something her predecessors did not achieve and compared to other channels has maintained a schedule of more diverse and a more consistent channel of variety and rich mix of programmes. I do think that a change is needed now though and a refresh is needed too. But, idents are not going to be top of a new controllers priorities. If new idents are commissioned then I believe they will be a long time in developing as chiefs will not want to splash out thousands of pounds of licence payers money on new ones especially as its charter is due for renewal.

To judge a contoller on idents alone is daft. We never watch channels for the idents alone but for the programmes. BBC1 is lacking regular quality drama, sitcoms and entertainment shows. If I were, in a theoretical world, appointed as controller, that is what I would make as my priority. I would introduce new idents, but I would be looking for something that has longevity and can be modernised, refreshed and updated periodically without being overhauled. A ten year minimum lifespan would be established rather than change image every four years.

That is basically all I have to say on the matter, but I conclude by mentioning that I would like to see Lorraine go and be replaced by someone (man, woman or alien) a little less radical. Remember though, that every controller on every channel has had good points and bad points. That is a trend that will undoubetdly continue.

Well, let's just hope that whoever the next controller is, they hate the dancer idents just as much as we do. They've had they're time now and I think that there should be another major rebrand in 2006.